IUMA: Milton
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IUMA (Internet Underground Music Archive) Collection Folksoundomy: A Library of SoundUploaded by Jason Scott on
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Visit our official site (other homepage): www.miltondevilsparty.com
Milton and The Devils Party make power-pop for thinking people. What else would you expect from a band founded by two English professors? But don't get your dictionaries out just yet. The Philadelphia based quartet has rock-n-roll roots, loves great pop songs and they know how to write them. As Jonathan Takiff of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote, Their lyrics have an edge, but the spirit of [the] songsis more sarcastic punk than high-falutin poetics. And the band's propulsive, power pop music offers the sweet and sour whiff of an Elvis Costello or R.E.M. anthem.
The band's debut full-length What Is All This Sweet Work Worth? is a perfect blend of the band's accessible pop melodies, smart and ironic sense of humor, and rock n' roll grit. Yes, you'll hear the common themes of love and relationships in Milton and the Devils Party's songs, but as frontman and bassist Daniel Robinson says, he's also most likely written the only pop song based on Book X of Paradise Lost.
The band got its start when Robinson and lead guitarist Mark Graybill met while pursuing their doctorates in literature at the University of South Carolina. Both later ended up at Widener University just outside of Philadelphia where they formed Milton and the Devils Party.
Music led me to be an English professor - partly because, as a teenager, I admired bands and songwriters that had a literary sensibility, Robinson says. Music is absolutely part of the creative drive that led me to study literature, Graybill agrees. I can't separate the two.
The two teamed up with guitarist Pat Manley and drummer Martin Evans, imported from London's music scene, to complete Milton and The Devils Party. The two have influenced the direction of the songs and have added considerable punch to the band's live shows. Pat adds a crunch and thickness to the body of the songs, Robinson says. And sometimes Martin will even change the whole feel of the song by suggesting rhythmic changes. This often affects the way I decide to play bass.
Recorded at Emerald City Studios in Cherry Hill, NJ with producer Harris London, What Is All This Sweet Work Worth? is set for a national release on January 11th. The band performs regularly in Philadelphia and New York City and will be hitting other East Coast cities in 2005 in support of the record. Their new songs are already receiving airplay on such major Philly stations as Y-100 and WXPN, boding well for the success of the record.
Indie-music.com hails the recordings as hands down, one of the best debut records I've heard in a long time; adding, when a band comes along that can push my rock'n'roll buttons in this manner, it reminds me that I am just a huge music fan at heart.
Publicity Contact Megan Wendell, Canary Promotion Ph: 215-242-6393 E: megan@canarypromo.com
Web EPK: www.canarypromo.com/milton Band: www.miltondevilsparty.com
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